Two mothers with the same name, who met in the maternity ward of a hospital and gave birth to twin boys a day apart, say their friendship was “meant to be.”
Rebecca Louise Williams, 31, and Rebecca Louise Mcloughlin, 27, met when they both answered a call out for “Rebecca” at the Princess Royal Hospital in Telford, Shropshire, England.
They had both seen each other at pre-natal appointments, which were approximately every three weeks for six months, but hadn’t spoken.
However, when the hospital placed their beds next to each other, on Feb. 7, the then-expectant moms found out they had more in common than just their names.
Rebecca Williams—also known as Beckie—gave birth to Tommy, who weighed 4lbs 6oz, and Tyler, who was 5lbs 1oz, at 12:59 p.m. and 1:12 p.m. on Feb. 8.
Meanwhile, Rebecca Mcloughlin—also known as Becks—gave birth to Rhys, who weighed 4lbs 6oz, and Roman, who was 4lbs 5oz, by cesarean section at 12:11 p.m. and 12:12 p.m. on Feb. 9.
In the neonatal intensive care unit (NICU), Rhys was placed next to Tyler, and Roman was placed by Tommy’s side, forcing the mothers to meet once again.
Since their chance encounter, the moms said they have become best pals and feel that their friendship was “meant to be.”
“It’s crazy and so cute,” said Ms. Williams, who is a barista, from Telford, Shropshire. “It’s like fate. I really feel that she’s supposed to be in my life.”
The mom—who has two other children, Ruby, 10, and Riley, 7—says she and Ms. Mcloughlin get along really well, and their personalities just fit together.
“It never feels awkward,” she said. “You hardly ever meet other people with twins, let alone someone who lives just down the road and has same-age twin boys.
“I feel like we'll be friends for life—it will be so lovely to watch them grow up together.”
Ms. Mcloughlin, a teaching assistant from Newport, Shropshire, echoes the sentiment.
“It’s lovely and a bit spooky how many coincidental things we have in common,” she said. “When we meet up, it feels like I’ve known her for a very long time—you'd never think we’ve only met recently.”
The boys were in NICU together for a week and a half, and the nurses looked after them as a group of four and referred to them as “Rebecca’s twins” or “Rebecca’s boys.”
Ms. Mcloughlin, a first-time mom, took her twins home on Feb. 20, and Ms. Williams took her twins home after four weeks on March 7.
The mothers have continued to stay in touch, texting each other all the time and meeting up at least once a week. They plan to meet more frequently now the boys are older.
Tyler and Rhys hold onto each other every time they meet, and all four boys like to put their hands together.
“It’s really cute. We think they know each other because they were together for so long in hospital,” Ms. Mcloughlin said. “They have a really strong bond—they don’t even do that with their brothers.”
Both the mothers are planning shared birthday parties and also a trip out for just the two of them as they both share July as their birthday month.
“It’s really fun to have Beckie as a friend and really special to have someone going through the same as I am—someone who really understands what each day raising twins is like,” Ms. Mcloughlin said. “We just laugh all the time at the same things.”
